CONCORD, N.C. -- High School seniors from Cabarrus County Public Schools got to rev their engines on the Charlotte Motor Speedway and cruise down to receive their diplomas.

What You Need To Know


  • 10 High Schools in Cabarrus County held their graduation ceremonies at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

  • The ceremonies spanned over two days.

  • Teachers came out to cheer them on as the students cruised down the track.

It comes after their in-person graduations were canceled due to the coronavirus.

“I think it is really cool,” Mount Pleasant High School graduate, Victoria Chandler said. “Race car drivers do this. And now we get to do it for our graduation and zoom through and get our diploma.”

The graduation ceremony started like any other event with speeches from faculty and students, but there was one main difference. Instead of the speeches being broadcast over a loudspeaker, they were broadcast on the car radio.

It comes at a time when many high school graduations across North Carolina went virtual.

“I was just really hoping I wouldn't get my diploma in the mail,” Chandler said.

Students were asked to stay in their cars. After the ceremony, one by one, they entered the race track.

“We won’t be able to experience what everybody else did, but we have the chance to tell everyone that we got to have it here,” Jay M. Robinson High School graduate, Aliyah Graham said.

It's a bittersweet ending for the Class of 2020.